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Sunday, December 31, 2017

Some of you may know my mom is completely blind in her left eye and has very limited sight in her right eye. Since she no longer decorates for the holidays, I decided to make her a tree she could essentially keep up all year long. And, since this tree is embossed, she can literally run her fingers over it.

I used an entire sheet of watercolor paper to make this. The first step is to emboss your focal point using white embossing powder. I did a test; I did one design in clear powder and one using white powder. These pictures don't do it justice, but the white powder was bright and clear while the clear powder just sort of faded into the background. The tree on the right was embossed with clear powder and the tree on the left with white embossing powder. Now they do look sort of similar but, once the inks dry, that white powder POPS as you can see by the tree I made. Of course, in the spirit of full disclosure I used a lot more of the Oxide inks on the "white" tree since I knew that one was going to be the one I was going to give Mom. I guess the bottom line is use whichever you prefer to get the look you are trying to achieve. I inked and spritzed the tree a lot. I wanted it to be vibrant enough so my Mom could see the colors if nothing else. I was positive the ink would stain the embossing powder but it didn't. Once I was pleased with the colors, I trimmed the piece of watercolor paper down and mounted it onto the panel. I tried to frame it but the bulk of the panel made that difficult, so I just gave her the panel. And she loved it, of course, but she's a bit biased. That's it! The project took me about 3 days, but I am sure it would have gone much faster if I hadn't fiddled around with the Oxide Inks so much. I really do love the white popping out of the colors. I only have a few more holiday posts that I want to get published; so I hope you haven't lost your holiday spirit! Thanks, ChristiI am entering my Mom's Tree in the following challenges:Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything GoesInkspirational Challenge - Just StampingStamping Sensations - Winter Trees & Flowers Rhedd's Creative Spirit (running til 1/31/18) Altered Art/EtcThe Rubber Buggy - #8, Christmas/WinterAltered Eclectics - (running til 1/31/18) Altered Art/EtcEclectic Ellapu - (running til 1/31/18) Anything Goes Altered ArtInspiration Destination - #140 (running til 1/2/18) Anything GoesSweet Stampin' - Anything NEW {first time I have used this stamp}

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Settle in, dear readers, this is a slightly long story, but it is a story of miracles and things happening at just the right time. As some of you may recall, my next door neighbor has an adorable dog named Lolly. Well, Lolly now has a boyfriend, Bear. Bear literally showed up next door, matted, hungry, & thirsty. My neighbor was going out, so I took Bear into my fenced-in backyard. I looked him up, found a rabies tag, and tried to find his owner. The local animal shelters attempted to make contact with the information they had but, no one contacted me or the shelters. It began to get dark and I couldn't have Bear come to my house, not knowing if he was ill and could possibly infect, or attack, the Fabulous Feline Four, so I called my good friend, Tom, to come and take Bear until his owner could be found. Fast forward a week and no one was looking for Bear. The Man and I even drove around the neighborhood where Bear used to live to see if there were lost dog signs. Tom and Bear fell head over heels for each other and have been inseparable. Tom was going through a very lonely time and Bear couldn't have showed up at a better time. It's been about nine months and Bear is healthy, happy, and has a fabulous owner. Bear and Lola are medium, mixed-breed dogs, but they appear to be mixes of the same breeds. They are almost exactly the same size and they LOVE to play when Bear comes over. They run around the yard like little race cars, yipping, following each other and sharing treats. Both dogs have been introduced to the Fabulous Feline Four with only small squabbles, mostly due to Sylvester's temper. To celebrate how happy everyone is, for Christmas this year I made Helen, Lolly's mom, and Tom, Bear's dad the exact same cards with just a few differences.

I had already colored and die cut the two dogs; Bear is a darker grey, with one white leg, whereas Lolly is all grey and white. Each of their noses got a dot of Glossy Accents and they were set aside. The cats were also pre-colored and I chose the two I did due to the similarity to my cats.

Bear's Card

I designed and cut out the word bubbles using my Silhouette Cameo and stamped the sentiments in the bubbles. I then used the Labels die to cut out the "Dear Santa, define good" sentiment and the gold paper. I glued them together and set them aside.To begin my scene, I stamped the tree, which I inked with the Wendy Vecchi inks, slightly off the edge of the card. I wanted to ensure I had enough room, plus I wanted the dogs to be the focal point. I colored in the baubles with various gel pens and attached a gold sequin star to each tree. I "wrapped" each bone with tissue paper and ripped the sides to make it seem like the dog had done it. I used dimensional dots to pop out the dogs, adding little pieces of the tissue paper to each dog; Bear has it in his mouth while Lolly got some on her head during her ravaging of the bone. I made sure there was enough space

Lolly's Card

between the dog and the tree so I had room to add some more tissue paper scraps. I attached the gold and white card sentiments above each dog's head, while using the word bubble sentiment off to the right side of the card so it appeared that someone out of the scene was telling the dog not to peek. That little warning came a bit too late. Now, neither dog lives with any cats, but, knowing how curious cats are, I decided to add a cat to the side of the card, with a wide eyed look. I wanted it to seem like the cats were both amazed and appalled at what the dog was doing, and quite possibly, might tattle. I had a great time figuring out how I was going to get my message across; and everyone loved the cards. You can bet you will be seeing these two rascals in more of my creations. Thank you so much for reading this post; I know it was long :) Hugs!! ChristiI am entering my Christmas has Gone to the Dogs cards in the following challenges:Fussy & Fancy - #202, Christmas ChallengeStamplorations - December Challenge, Stamps & GoldStamplorations Anything Goes - OngoingKraftin' Kimmie - Anything Goes or SketchSisterhood of Snarky Stampers - #100, N is for Naughty ChristmasSweet Stampin' Christmas - Anything Goes ChristmasSimon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything GoesThe Merry Christmas Challenge - #49, Anything Goes & Christmas

Sunday, December 24, 2017

For those celebrating Christmas, tonight is the BIG night. You only have about 6 hours until the children wake up & you had better have put everything together! My parents used to hold a HUGE open house on Christmas Eve - upwards of 200 people in, out, and around the house. I woke up many a Christmas Day with strange people sleeping on the living room couch - it might sound weird but it was fun. My family always collected strays - be it people or animals. My mother tells of the time I woke up at 6 am to get my gifts and she had literally laid her head down 15 minutes prior - hehehehehehe! Enough nostalgia; but that is what this card brings out in me. A feeling of times before the insanity of social media, the craziness of Black Friday and before everything became a contest to keep up with the Jones'. I hope you & yours have a splendid holiday season! So, on to my card:

What I Used to Make This Card:White Card BaseStitched Circle Trees, Memory Box, #99843 {or, Stitched Circle Cabin}Stitched Village, Memory Box, #99891 {or Stitched Cabin, Stitched Tree}Nesting Circle, Darice, #2014-74 {Tutti has plenty of Nesting Circles}"Cloudy" VellumWhite Glitter CardPale Blue CardThe card is very easy to make, not so easy to photograph, but carry on. The first thing I did was cut the Stitched Circle Tree out of white glitter card. I then cut it out again using the Nested circles, so I had an actual circle instead of just a die cut on paper. After putting the cut on my card blank, I really felt it needed just a smidge more something. I think the cloudy vellum adds a softness to the card; of course, you can use anything you choose - I just didn't want the background to compete in any way with the trees. The vellum was cut with the same circle I used to cut the stitched die out of the glitter white card.

If you click this pic, you can see thedimension and the sparkle

I attached the vellum to the cut and, while it certainly looked serene {the look I was going for - after all, it is Christmas Eve!}, I still felt it was too blah. I love white on white cards and I just don't seem to able to mix whites effectively. My cards never look like their cards do! Ah, maybe someday - I'll keep at it! Back to my card. To add just a weeny little something, I cut out the three houses from the Stitched Village die; first I used white card, too dull, then Kraft card, too obvious, then this very pale blue I found. Perfect! The little house nestled perfectly where I wanted it. I truly adore this little CAS card, I hope you like it as well.

Another Look

Here is another look - just click on the image and it should pop open to full size {please let me know if it doesn't!}

I hope you and yours are having a WONDERFUL Holiday Season and all of us here wish you continued health & happiness ~

Thursday, December 21, 2017

This card is the twin of my Clean and Simple card - but I used different colors. Honestly, I like this card better; the sparkle is amazing! Very simple to make, which is good since time is FLYING by - only four more days! Let's get to it!

You can't really see the sparkle in this picture; the one below shows the sparkle better.

I wanted the ornaments to be spaced evenly so I used my MISTI to stamp them, beginning with the Celestial Copper, then the Golden Glitz, alternating the ornaments and the ink colors. These are my first Delicata ink pads and I am in LOVE! They truly are the most vibrant and sparkly inks I have ever used; and trust me, I've used a lot of metallic inks! I definitely have decided I need more colors, specifically the white and the black - I think they'd be very cool! Now, back to the card, I then trimmed the white panel and attached it to the gold panel (I used a thin gold cardstock), and lastly, attached that to the card base. I added the sentiment using the Gilded Holiday Remnant Rubs (I've had these for a year and just found them again!) and then I hand drew a square using a gold gel pen around the sentiment. I purposely made the square wonky; it's easier than trying to be perfect! Finally, I added a few sequins and the card is done! Quick and easy! You could use all sorts of elements in this style, make your own string and hang some hearts, make your own ornaments with some small circles, let your imagination go wild!Thanks for stopping by! I'm trying to get my holiday cards done; I typically have a few left after the holiday to blog about. Makes the festivities last longer, right? I hope you & yours are enjoying your holiday! ChristiI am entering my Copper & Gold card in the following challenges:CAS on Friday - #123, ChristmasAddicted to CAS - #126, SparkleAAA Cards - #105, SparkleCAS-ual Fridays - #189, Dreaming of a White Christmas

Hello everyone, I hope this post finds you and yours doing well. I have a confession. I'm am addicted to Oxide Inks. I find myself designing cards around the inks, saying "how can I use them"?, "will they look good in this application"? - I'm just glad there are so many ways to use them and that the palette has SO many cool colors! These cards are a remake of an oldie but goodie technique. There are numerous ways we used embossing powder and various inks and techniques on our cards; just do a google search on embossing powder techniques and you will find enough information to keep you busy for a while. I honestly never put much stock in white embossing powder; it NEVER worked for me, always leaving white spots on my cardstock, but this year I decided to try it again. I started using a quality embossing powder and it made all the difference! Anyway, this card was SO easy to make, you get a twofer! Enjoy!

with the white embossing powder {and FYI, I have used clear embossing powder on another project and it just doesn't give me the crispness I like}. Once my flakes were embossed and cooled, I went to town with the Oxides.I smooshed, dotted and generally went nutty with the Oxides and my blending tool. I spritzed water, mopped it up, inked, spritzed a gazillion times until I liked the colors. Your white embossing may look a bit faded, but once the Oxides dry, your embossing will pop right out. I trimmed each snowflake panel and adhered them to white card bases. Lastly, I used Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink and the sentiment, which I stamped in the lower right hand corner. The freshness of the pastel colors and the pop of the white snowflakes really appeal to my sense of being festive. I adore trying to make cards and such without using traditional holiday colors and I think these will brighten someone's day; essential once the weather causes those dreary wintry grey days. Thank you so much for visiting and I hope your holiday season is fabulous! ChristiI am entering my Simple Snowflake Cards in the following challenges:Moo-Mania - ChristmasMuse: Christmas Visions - Any Holiday CardStampavie - #296, Christmas Addicted to Stamps - #159, ChristmasDelicious Doodles - Christmas - Non-Traditional ColorsJust For Fun Rubber Stamps - Happy Everything!

This is another CAS card. I was inspired when I found the stamps; yes, I had forgotten I had them! I was looking through the binders where I keep my unmounted stamps and there they were! Seemed like a great time to break them out and ink them up!

What I Used to Make my Card:Blue Card Base - Core'dinations Premium Cardstock in Sea GlassWhite CardOxide Inks in Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers & Faded JeansSo Suzy Stamps, Ornament Star Dangle, #A00509So Suzy Stamps, Ornament Dangle, #A00508Sentiment from Scribbly Christmas, CMS249Distress Ink in Blueprint SketchMISTIThis was a very simple card to make. I used a white card panel to begin the card, trimmed to A2 size. I used my MISTI to ensure each ornament was positioned properly; they are about an inch apart. I inked up the first stamp, the Ornament Star Dangle, in Salty Ocean Oxide Ink, followed that with the Ornament Dangle, inked in Peacock Feathers Oxide and continued to alternate

Another Look

the two stamps, the middle stamp is inked in the Oxide inks Faded Jeans, then Peacock Feathers and finally Salty Ocean.Finally, I stamped the sentiment with Blueprint Sketch ink, trimmed the white panel down and attached it to the blue card base. Here is a bit of enabling - right now at Consumer Crafts the Core'dinations cardstock pack, sea glass, I used is 50% off!! Seems to be a heck of a sale going on there! Also, stay tuned for a sparkly version of this card - showing as soon as I get a second to write up the post :)I hope you are having a fabulous holiday season! Thank you SO much for stopping by ~ ChristiI am entering my CAS Holiday Card in the following challenges:Double D Challenges - Baby, it's COLD outside (Inspiration Image)

Sunday, December 17, 2017

One of my favorite things is when I can stretch my crafting supplies - I love it when I can make something intended for something else, another holiday or project and shape it into something entirely different. Today I am sharing a card I made with what I'd call a spring die, after I turned it into a holiday die.

What I Used to Make my Card:Red Card BaseSmall Fairytale Oval, Memory Box, #99172 {Calla Oval Wreath will work also!}Poinsettia Mini, PoppyStamps, #1971 {could use this poinsettia set}Stitched Oval Stax, MFT/Die-Namics, #MFT-521Sentiment, Merry Christmas, My Sentiments Exactly! #G545Wendy Vecchi Ink in Red GeraniumWhite and Green CardRed Glitter CardStickles in GoldI got the idea for this card after I spied the Poinsettia dies in the Dies R Us store. I had to have them and the flower is so tiny and cute, I hope to be able to incorporate it into some other projects. First, I cut the Small Fairytale Oval out of green card. Then I set to work on the poinsettias. I cut each layer out of red glitter card {there are three layers to each flower}, glued them together, then added the gold stamen. The gold Stickles came out really dark and I was thinking I might have to make the flowers all over again, but once it dried it was fine. Once the poinsettia flowers were dry, I added them to the Small Fairytale Oval. I trimmed some of the green flora to accommodate the flowers and also the

sentiment. The sentiment I chose fit just so even after I trimmed the inside of the oval a bit, so in order to ensure that I'd get the Merry Christmas in the right spot I taped the oval with washi tape around the sentiment while I glued it. You can see the washi tape right under the ink; I used a scrap piece of white card since I knew I was going to cut the entire design out again. Before I go further, I have to gush about the Red Geranium Wendy Vecchi ink. In my opinion, it is the truest red ink I've found. You may not be able to tell with the sentiment being so thin, but it is the only ink I use on my holiday projects that call for red ink. Plus, it's archival so it dries permanent on most surfaces and it's waterproof. I don't care for tomato red or orange reds when I need a true deep red. Enough about the ink.

When the oval dried around my sentiment, I cut it out using one of the Stitched Oval Stax dies and adhered it to a red card base. This is all part of my attempt to be a bit more clean and simple with my card designs. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and are enjoying the holiday season! I do hope you will continue to join us at the Dies R Us Inspiration blog - we are there through the holidays with tons of brilliant inspiration! Fondly, Christi

Saturday, December 16, 2017

I love getting My Monthly Hero Kit each month from Hero Arts. Not only do I get introduced to new products, but it is truly like Christmas every month! I haven't had a chance to play with December's kit, yet, but I made this cute little village scene using November's kit. I hope you enjoy it :)

As the Oxide Ink sky dried, I stamped my images on watercolor paper, using Intense Black ink and my MISTI. I stamped a few of the images a couple of times so that if I ruined one {or two} with my coloring, or die cutting, I'd have other choices to use. I used the pencils to do the bulk of the coloring, accenting the images with Stickles, gel pens and Wink of Stella. Once everything was dry, colored and cut out, I cut the mountain range out of

Another Look

white glitter cardstock. I attached that to the sky panel, then placed my buildings, and Mr. & Mrs. Claus, onto the mountain, occasionally using dimensional dots for some of the buildings. I debated for a while if I should have put something in the sky, a sentiment or something, but then decided to leave it as is. I'm fairly sure you can tell it is a Christmas Card.I would love to know if you get the My Monthly Hero Kits, or any subscribed kit for that matter and your opinion of them. I hope to be able to see some of your creations and if you've made a village scene, please leave me your blog address in the comments so I can go leave you some blogger love. I hope you & yours are having a healthy, happy and safe holiday season ~ Hugs, ChristiI am entering my Christmas Village card in the following challenges:A Blog Named Hero - M, Winter HolidayThe Artistic Stamper - M, ChristmasChristmas Cards All Year Round - M, Anything GoesDie Cut Diva's - M, Winter Cards Emerald Creek - M, Happy HolidaysSimon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Christmas/Winter Holidays

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Hello friends! I hope this post finds you well; personally, I am struggling with a huge cold, so please bear with me as this post might be a bit disjointed. The theme this month at Stinkin' Inkers is the seasonally appropriate Celebrate the Holidays. I hope you like my card!

What I Used to Make my CardWhite Card BaseDistress Oxides Inks Background - Salty Ocean, Faded Jeans, Broken China & Seedless PreservesRanger Watercolor PaperQuietfire Designs Flourished Ornament (no longer available as a stamp, but it is a digital file, #107611)Small SnowflakePiccolo Siam Silver Embossing EnamelWow! Silent Night Embossing Power, #WS101RDistress Ink in BlueprintAmuse 4mm SequinsMISTISilver Glitter Gel PenI made the Distress Oxide background first and once it was dry I began stamping. I stamped the ornament using embossing ink and heat embossed it

using the Siam Silver embossing enamel. I stamped the center using Distress Ink in Blueprint. I colored around the ornament, and the "ribbon", using a silver glitter gel pen.I then stamped a small snowflake in various places, using embossing ink again, and heat embossed those using the Wow! embossing powder. I fished trough my sequin stash and found some blue ones that I think accent the card beautifully, so I glued on three sequins. Lastly, I trimmed the panel and attached it to a white card.Thanks for bearing with me while I battle this cold! I do hope to see you join in at the Stinkin' Inkers challenge. Have a wonderful day! ChristiI am entering my Holiday card in the following challenges:Simon Says Stamp, Wednesday Challenge - Anything GoesSimon Says Stamp, Monday Challenge - Icy Inspiration